World Bank funds fight against HIV

The World Bank Board of Directors has approved an International Development Association grant of US$ 5 million to support the strategy of the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho to expand and accelerate its response to the HIV/AIDS through prevention, access to treatment and the mitigation of the socio-economic impact of the pandemic in Lesotho. The IDA grant will notably build capacity within Lesotho to effectively scale up its fight against the HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis (TB) epidemics over the next five years in keeping with an agreement signed in 2002. That year, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) approved a US$34 million grant -US$29 million for HIV/AIDS and US$5 million for tuberculosis - for the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho.


"This technical assistance project aims to supplement the capacity of government and non-governmental institutions responsible for Lesotho's response to HIV/AIDS to enable them to effectively utilize and assess the impact of funds received for fighting the epidemic", said Julie McLaughlin, the World Bank's Task Team Leader for the project. The Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho has agreed to use a decentralized participatory approach, a multi-sectoral strategy, and a transparent financing system for the implementation of all HIV/AIDS-related projects. (World Bank, Washington DC)